The flights and airports were surprisingly painless. So was packing, but that's just because I brought an extra suitcase this time and just threw in everything without much regard to what I actually needed. (For instance: I brought a swimming suit!? Whoops.)

packing

Heh, that's how I packed when I went to Europe for the first time. I knew my backpack was heavy, but I didn't realize how heavy it was until the polite yet annoyed British Airlines rep informed me that my pack weighed 80kg. Ohhhh, so *that's* why my back hurts! :)